Improvement in automatic water-spout cut-offs



itthzh hm normanv STEWART. orronr MADISON, Iowa.

t Leers Patent N0.- naros, 1aed-March 2s, 1871.

, vrMPRovEMr-:Nr rN AuroMA-rrc` wATr-:R-sPouv-rcuT-OFFS..

l'.lfhe Schedule referred t`o ln these Pate-nt and making part of the same.

To all whom it may concern. I

Be it known that I, EDWARD STEWART, of Fort Madison,-in Lee county and State of Iowa, have invented a new'andnseful Automatic Water-spout Out-off; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof', reference being had to the accompanying drawing through letters of reference marked thereon, and which represents my apparatusin its two positions- Figure 1 being that before or at the commencement of a rain, and V Figure 2 the position automatically assumed after the shower has continued a sulicient length of time to have washed olf the roofs of the building to which 'it is attached.

This apparatus is intended for use in localities where rainwater is used for domestic purposes and is obtained from the roofs of buildings and stored in lcisterns for future use.

With the ordinary system of spouting all the dust, dirt, and s'mut which accumulates in y dry weather on the roof is washed otf at the commencement of rain and conducted into the cistern. "lhis, of course, makes the water muddy forl a time, but, moreover, eventually renders it unit for culinary purposes.

To provide a remedy forthis evil is the object of my invention, which consists inconuecting with ythe leader-pipe a chamber' having. two discharge-pipes, and an automatic conductor, to direct the water for a given time at the commencement of a rain to and through a waste-pipe, and, after the roofs have been wjell washed, tochange itsl position and conduct it to another pipe leading to the cistern or reservoir for future use.

'lo enable others to construct and use my ihren/7 tion l will now describe it by referring to the drawing,

inwhich- Y A represents-a chamber, which may be .of any snitable form, for connection at its upper end with the leader-pipe B, and provided with two discharge-pipes, C and-D, thel former of which conducts the water to Waste, and the latter to the cistern or reservoir.

Within the chamber A is suspended, on a pivot, a funnel-shaped conductor, E, preferably of rectangular form in its horizontal cross-section, and has attached to it a weight, G, supported on an upwardlyextending rod, c, which serves to retain said conductor, when inclined toward either' side of ythe clramber,'in such position until changed by hand or automatically, as will be hereinafter described.

The lower part of the chamber A is divided bya plate, d, to insure the passage of the watendown either' one of the pipes C or D over which the condnctorE may be arranged; and on that side -of the plate d which communicates with the waste-pipe C is suspended on a lever, H, a shelf, I, on which is placed pan or vessel, J.

The levers H have a fixed fulcrnm at e, on the front and back ofthe chamber A, and the end pieces ofthe shelf I arepivoted to it at f, while ltheir np-l per ends are connected by a rod, g, which works within a slot formed by one side of the conductor E and the strap or stirruph.

The conductor is also perforated on the-side, asat l, so that, when in position represented 'in fig. 1, a..

.swings the conductor E over the waste-pipe C, and

thronghvthe lever H'raises the shelf on which stands the vessel J, the weight G retaining all the parts in that position, so that, when it commences to rain, like the first washing of the roof, will pass from the leader' B through the conductor E down the wastepipe (l, while a small portion, leaking through the perfor-ations at l', will-` be caught in the vessel J untill the latter is fullenough to overcome, through the lever H, on which it is suspended, the inclination of the weight G, when, in its descent, the rod "q, at the opposite end of the lever, will canse the conductor E to swing to the position represented in fig. 2, and the. weight G, having passed in the direction vof the arrow to the other side of its axis, will' retain it in that position to conduct the water to the pipe D leading to v the reservoir or cistern. A latch, m, may also be pivoted at the side of the chamberl A for the edge of the conductor to catch upon. A.

After the rain is over' it is only necessary to empty the vessel J and swing the conductor and weight G backA to the position representedin g..1, to be in readiness for a like action at the commencement of another rain.

What is here claimedfand desired to have'secured by Letters Patent, i'sl. An automatic water-conductor, consisting ofthe 

